A proposed multi-billion-dollar ultra-high-speed hyperloop transportation system between Edmonton and Calgary will include a 10-kilometre test section between Didsbury and Olds along Highway 2, says Sebastien Gendron, CEO of TransPod Inc.
Pending government and other approvals, the Toronto-based company is proposing to build the bullet-train type system that would see passengers transported inside a large pipeline called a TransPod Hyperloop, he explained.
“Rather than to transport oil, it transports people and goods,” Gendron told the Gazette.
There are six companies around the world currently developing the hyperloop technology, including TransPod in Canada, he said.
The company has asked the Kenney government for a commitment to the project.
If that commitment is given, the company proposes to build the Didsbury-Olds test section starting in 2021, he said.
“That would be the first phase,” he said. “We hope to have the 10-kilometre line running by 2023.
“To be able to finance that first section we need the commitment from the province that they will allow the full line to be built if the technology works. We are confident that what we are doing will work.”
The Didsbury-Olds section would be used to test the safety and operation of the hyperloop system, he said.
“The objective is to run vehicles over two years, so between 2023 and 2025, and to get the final validation from regulatory bodies such as Transport Canada.”
The intention is to have the complete line running by 2030, he said.
There are no plans to seek public money for the project, he said.
TransPod vehicles are being designed to travel at more than 1,000 kilometres per hour using electric propulsion, according to the company’s website.
